Harrisburg commuting?

Harrisburg commuting?

Having been inspired by the VS Roseman articles in the March/April 2005 Railmodel Journals, I am developing a medium sized (17x19) layout in my garage that would model PRR passenger operations there in the 40s/50s. Trains coming from "Chicago/St. Louis" powered by Bachman K4s and and a BLI T1 get BLI and AHM G1s Eastward (though I am not sure quite where to put a turntable yet!). The "easier" P2k E8s and PAs (no table required) substitute in the next era. Everything is DCC. I've got it modeled in Trainz with hidden staged industries for milk cars and the branch to York and South. The plan overall is a point to loop, with West as the loop, the station, etc. in the middle, and East ending at multiple staging tracks.

Two questions please:

1. I have converted some '72 Alco MP54s to DCC, but don't quite know where they would fit? I lived in NJ for college and fondly remember taking the 'dingy' to the junction to go to Philly. But the articles didn't talk about MP specific commuter service. Is this too far West?

2. So Gs did NOT go to Baltimore and DC from Harrisburg? Sounds like more switching work to do in Harrisburg, which is fine, but means I probably need to add more capacity to the 'Eastward' staging (for the 'Southbound' diesels as well as the 'Eastbound' Gs)?

It may be a little late for your time period but... in both the Volkmer "PRR Electric Years" and the Shuman "Trackside Under Pennsy Wires" there are pix of MP54 units west of Lancaster and actually in Harrisburg in the 1960s. This was regular service until the silversided modern MU cars replaced them, it seems. With the PRR you have to be very careful with 'never' or 'always.' I can find no pix before that of Red Rockets west of Lancaster prior to this. That doesn't mean that it didn't happen, in fact I would bet that it DID happen however rarely. There may also have been commuter "trial baloons" floated at various times that were either unoffical or lost to history.

The two books cited above also show:a silver GG1 in Columbia PA (railfan special?) that could only have been shot in 1955-1956 and also a passenger train on the Port Road that the author says was a 're-routing'. You couldn't run HBG-BALTO via York and do electrics because the electricity didn't go there.

There was something called the Reilly Street Roundhouse about 1/2 mile west of the station. The guy who tells me this said they also had a table, and that may be where the Ks got turned. He also said it was not long enough for T1s. It's also possile that they wyed the T1s to turn 'em on the bridge to Lemoyne. Amtrak did that with it's diesels until 2006, when the electrics took over to Phila.

Adding to the interest of this general area and time period:1. Reading station right across the tracks2. Reading overpass used extensively by the WM on runthroughs east of the station. Wow! FTs crossing over atop GG1s!3. A very brisk head end business right next to the station heading east. Jammed in the crotch of the Mulberry St bridge was this REA building, as I remember it, brown stone.4. B1 electrics and SW1 to do the switching. Before that, I am told, a B class steamer. (before my time!)5. Freights running through on the tracks just north of the station... probably heading down the Port Road eventually.6. Transfer runs from Enola to Rutherford also went on these tracks. Reading power was sometimes on these trains.And dont forget, late 1940s, the PRR had not sorted it all out yet... E7s, PAs, Eries, Centipedes and passenger sharks were occasional or more visitors.